


Just the Mother

by Emmilyne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Romance, Wizarding Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-25
Updated: 2006-07-25
Packaged: 2018-10-27 13:03:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10809591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmilyne/pseuds/Emmilyne
Summary: On their holiday in Nice, Molly contemplates life and the decisions she made that brought her to the place she is now, the mother of sons seemingly incapable of mature, healthy relationships.Outtake toOf Hearts and Heroes. Best read between chapters thirty and thirty-one.





	Just the Mother

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes:

This is an outtake to _Of Hearts and Heroes_ depicting Molly and Arthur Weasley on their holiday in Nice.  I recommend it be read between chapters thirty and thirty-one to avoid spoilers, but it isn’t necessary.  

_OH &H_ is an Alternate Universe story in that it begins prior to the last chapter of The Order of the Phoenix.  It was also written before Charlie and Bill’s official birth dates were released, so for the purposes of this story, Charlie is 28 and Bill 30. 

Thank you to **Texasmagic** and **kjcp** for their invaluable help and happy reading! 

* * *

 

**Just the Mother**

  
  


Molly Weasley stood alone on a deserted beach on the coast of Nice.  The sun had just cleared the horizon and the hazy predawn sky was brightening.  It amazed Molly how few tourists had come to see the spectacular sunrise.  Such lazy creatures Muggle tourists were.  But then again, they _did_ seem to stay up all night engaging in debauchery.  

She clicked her tongue at the thought as her mind wandered back to her own sons.  Molly cringed at the thought of what they may be getting into with her gone.  She and her husband should never have come on holiday. 

Arthur said she was no better than she was twenty-nine years ago when they had attempted to go on a short weekend holiday and leave baby Billy with her mother.  Molly had lasted twelve hours before grief and worry at being separated from her son sent her running home.  Now, she would run home just the same if only her husband would let her. 

Arthur was determined that they would enjoy their first holiday alone in thirty years.  He ignored her whining and complaints and insisted that she cease her incessant mopping.  

But he wasn’t there right now.  He was engaged in an animated discussion of Muggle tourist customs with the wizarding couple that owned the flat they were staying in.  Alone, Molly was free to mope to her heart's content and she had every intention of taking advantage of the situation.  

The beautiful sunny sky, so clear that Molly could see the coast of Spain off in the distance, did nothing to improve her mood.  She had serious business to mull over.  The most serious business of all, her children. 

A light wind blew off the crystal blue ocean and whipped the hem of the loose Muggle dress she wore around her ankles.  The only sound was the steady clinking of the tide pushing the stones lining the beach over and against each other, like ice cubes being shaken in the glass.  It was a steady hypnotizing sound, allowing her thoughts to flow easily. 

Molly was wondering where she went wrong as a mother.  How she had become the kind of mother that her children lied to, kept their lives from, schemed to get rid of so that they could throw a party that was most likely very unsuitable for a fifteen year-old girl.  She even wondered if her children needed her anymore.  

Again she questioned why she had accepted Bill’s _gift_ of a holiday to the coast of France.  Molly was no fool.  It was quite obvious that this party was more for her elder sons than her young daughter.  

She never would have gone if it weren’t for _her_ , for Adrianna.  It was because of her that Molly was feeling so useless in her own home.  She was the one who took over Grimmauld Place from the minute she walked through the door.  Her children jumped at her command in a way they had long since stopped doing for Molly.  Her older sons mooned over her and lied for her, about her.  Kept secrets.  From their own mother.  

But then _that_ wasn’t new.  They had undoubtedly been lying to her for years.  Molly was completely disconnected from her older children and in rapidly increasing danger of becoming isolated from the younger. 

It wasn’t Adrianna’s fault.  She hadn’t created the situation, only thrown it into the harsh light of day.  Such that, Molly felt the need forgo precious time with her children and run away to Nice where she had the time and the space to contemplate where she had gone so wrong. 

All Molly had ever tried to be was a good mother.  It was her deepest pride and her greatest joy.  She lived by simple principles.  Love her children with everything she had, protect them at all costs, and expect the best for them and of them.  Because her children _were_ the best. 

It was all so simple.  Molly had so wanted for her children the important things: love, family, security, direction.  She _thought_ she was succeeding.  At what point had it all slipped away?  Where had her principles failed her?  Where had _she_ failed? 

How had she come to a place where she had two children straddling thirty with nothing resembling a healthy, mature relationship?  Not to mention the grandchildren that Molly should have on her knee at this stage in her life.  Her third child refused to have anything to do with her, the family, or their values, rejecting her in the worst possible way.  The fourth and fifth were wizard school dropouts.  And her babies?  Her babies were being hunted down the greatest evil they had seen in a century.  

So much for her principles.  They hadn’t helped a bit in the end.  She couldn’t even keep her children safe.  All Molly had ever been was a mother.  One would have thought that she could have at least got _some_ part of itright.  

It wasn’t always this way.  Molly had high expectations for herself.  She was going to be a Healer.  She had the marks, was Head Girl in her time.  She was accepted to the St.  Mungo’s school for Healers, the best program in Britain.  She had been young and foolish and had thought that she could have it all, a large family, a wonderful husband, _and_ a successful career.  She had been _so_ sure that she could do it all just perfectly. 

Molly married Arthur less than a month after finishing at Hogwarts.  She had wanted to honeymoon before she began school.  It had all been planned out so carefully.  She was going to have the perfect life. 

Forgetting the contraception charm on her wedding night had _not_ been part of the plan.  But she had been so nervous.  And excited.  It was all so new and her head had been full of passion and Arthur and their new life together.  Who could think at such a time? 

When Molly had first become sick during her Healing lessons, pregnancy was not the first thing to come to mind, but it had soon become undeniable.  She was an eighteen-year-old Healer student and she was going to have a baby.  All of a sudden, it wasn’t a fantasy, it was terrifying.  The overwhelming responsibility was more than she ever imagined. 

And being pregnant, _that_ was no fantasy.  It was awful.  She was nauseous and tired and cried all the time.  She had quickly fallen behind in her lessons.  Molly Prewett was _never_ behind in her lessons.  But she was Molly Weasley now and there were decisions to be made and Healing school wasn’t free.  And babies were expensive. 

Arthur was too proud to ask her parents for money.  _She_ was too proud.  So, she quit.  Molly would go back to school when her children were a bit older.  She was still young and had her life in front of her.  

The first time Molly held her beautiful little Billy in her arms she knew she made the right decision.  What could be more important than being a mother to this most perfect little being?  The joy and love she felt made it all worthwhile. 

Soon, she had two beautiful, intelligent boys, and a wonderful husband.  Molly had more than any woman could ask for.  She never thought of herself as _just_ the mother.  She was a woman with the most important of jobs, but even so, after Charlie was born she _never_ forgot the contraception charm.  

Molly loved being a mother, but she always intended to go back to school and be a Healer, just as soon as her boys were safely tucked away in primary school.  But then the boys going to school was not exactly as she imagined it either.  There were no wizarding primary schools and her boys … her boys were so very talented. 

She barely made it through one year with Billy.  Almost immediately, the messages starting coming home about the “strange events” that happened in Billy’s classroom.  The Weasley’s had actually had to get one of those fool felephone things because of the constant calls home.  That _alone_ was a nightmare.  Arthur and the fool thing, humiliating, really.  Molly remembered the satisfaction she felt when she binned the fool device. 

The day that solidified her fate was burned into her mind.  It was on one of her many trips to Billy’s classroom.  Molly arrived with four-year-old Charlie on her hip to confront the overwhelmed and furious teacher. 

“Somehow” Billy had managed to turn a girl blue, not her hair, but the actual girl.  Blue.  Billy always loved that color and he had quite a little crush on the little girl.  Molly should have known then that girls would only mean trouble for her boys. 

So, there she was, arguing with the poor Muggle teacher that Billy couldn’t possibly be responsible for the poor little girl’s plight, knowing all too well that, of course, Billy was responsible.  Who else could it be?  When Charlie … 

Molly should have known.  The classroom had no less than three hamsters, four mice, two lizards, and one boa constrictor.  It was a Goddamned zoo.  What was the teacher thinking? 

Little Charlie never could stand to see animals locked up, couldn’t to this day.  Molly could still hear the teacher’s screech when she realized that there were no longer any bars on the cages and the animals had taken over her classroom. 

It was then that Molly knew that her boys couldn’t go to primary school.  She also knew that her being a Healer was not meant to be.  It was a surprisingly easy revelation.  She cried not a single tear.  She just gladly took on the task of home-schooling her children.  It was a joy really, just a fulfilling as any career could be.  Or it used to be, back when she thought she was doing something right.  

Charlie and Billy were so smart, hardworking, talented, and she … she was so very proud of them.  Such good boys.  Molly decided that she would choose another career after the boys went to Hogwarts.  One that didn’t require so much schooling.  She needed time to devote to her family. 

Then there was a drunken winter solstice and for the second time in her life Molly forgot the contraceptive charm and nine months later there was Percy.  It seemed she’d found her calling.  Obviously, fate was telling her something.  Motherhood _was_ her career. 

Molly decided to give herself over completely to her destiny.  And try for the little girl she always wanted.  It had only taken three more tries to get one, but she did.  Even if her mother-in-law said the Weasley’s hadn’t produced a girl in generations and that Molly was wasting her time and her uterus.  

Ha!  Molly had shown her what for.  She had her girl, the perfect cap to her perfect brood.  With loving, care, and determination, she had created a family to be envied.  She had put her talents to good use.  The best use of all. 

So when had Molly turned into a complete failure?  They had been such a close family once.  What happened?  If only her boys had never discovered girls.  _That’s_ what stole her sons from her, like Hogwarts never could.  

It all started the summer after Billy’s second year.  But he wasn’t Billy anymore, then.  He came home from Hogwarts and he was Bill, just Bill.  He was twelve _, twelve_ for heaven’s sake, when Molly had caught him kissing a Muggle girl behind an old oak tree. 

Now, looking back, the kiss seemed almost sweet.  Such a chaste little kiss.  But at the time, Molly had been horrified.  Perhaps, she had overreacted.  It wasn’t entirely her fault.  She hadn’t known it at the time, but she had been pregnant with the twins.  Double the children, double the hormones she supposed. 

Looking back, Molly probably shouldn’t have charmed _every_ inch of the house to scream bloody murder when underage kissing or touching occurred.  Or charmed her son’s underwear to flash messages like, “your mother knows everything,” and “good boys wait until marriage.” 

Marriage, ha!  As if her sons were getting married any time soon.  Maybe it was her fault.  If only Molly hadn’t put that ban on girls at the Burrow when Bill was twelve.  Maybe then the boys would have brought home their girlfriends once they were older.  

It took her years for her to realize her mistake, not until she over heard from some twittering witches at Diagon Ally talking about _her_ boy’s girlfriends.  Molly had almost fainted.  Bill and Charlie … girlfriends … that _she_ didn’t know about.  

Molly had been devastated.  Probably, she deserved it.  How stupid could she have been?  They were seventeen and fifteen years old at the time.  Did she really think that all they thought about was their studies and Quidditch?  

After that, Molly had tried to relax the rules.  Tried to reverse all the charms and get the boys new underwear.  She took down the final alarms around that house, most of which were already gone.  They hadn’t proved so practical after Ginny was born.  Oh, how the boys had laughed at her when the house started screaming every time one the boys tried to hold the baby.  Then Ginny would start screaming and Ronny … itwas horrible.  

But even with all the charms reversed, it was too late.  The boys had already got the message that girls weren’t welcome in their mother’s home.  Percy lied about Penelope for _two_ years.  Percy, who never lied about anything.  But at least Molly had _met_ Penny.  Never once did Bill or Charlie bring a girl home to meet their mother. 

Molly tried to back off so that they would know that she accepted them having relationships.  Fred and George brought Alicia and Angelina home.  Though, not to meet her, like proper young wizards would do.  No, they just brought them on over and disappeared to the Quidditch pitch or into the woods. 

She had always thought that perhaps she had backed off _too_ much with the twins.  Molly shuddered, thinking of those lavender knickers she found in their room.  What Fred must have been _doing_ up there.  _Those_ boys have no discipline, no respect.  The only sons who let her meet their girlfriends and they ignored all rules of decency, living like hoodlums. 

Molly didn’t know what to do anymore.  Where should she draw the line?  One would think that by the time one got to the sixth and seventh child she’d have a pretty good idea of how to handle her children dating.  Yet she had none.  What was too permissive, what was too strict? 

That letter Dean Thomas had sent Ginny, should Molly have let her little girl meet the boy on Diagon Ally?  The mere idea tied her stomach in knots.  Ginny was just a child, wasn’t she?  Yet, was Molly scarring her for life by not letting her have a teenaged romance?  Was she only guaranteeing that Ginny never come to her with matters of the heart? 

“We’re supposed to be on holiday, love.” 

Molly didn’t notice her husband’s approach until he was almost upon her.  He walked toward her slowly, his impractical sandals slipping on the pebbles.  She smiled slightly at the strange brightly colored Muggle shirt he wore with baggy his Muggle shorts.  Judging by the expression on Arthur’s face her smile mustn’t have reached her eyes. 

Her husband came up behind her and slipped his arms around her ample waist.  For a moment Molly let herself relax back against Arthur, her head lolling on his chest as they stared off at the myriad of blues that were the ocean and sky. 

“What has you so deep in thought?”  Arthur whispered, teasingly, into her ear.  So like her sons, always making light. 

Molly gave a small self-deprecating laugh as she answered, “Just pondering my failures as a mother.” 

Arthur scoffed, but without surprise.  This was a common topic of late.  “Molly, you’re not—”

“It’s true, Arthur.  I somehow managed to raise sons incapable of having a mature relationship.” 

“That’s ridiculous—”

“It’s not—”

“It _is_!  Listen to me Molly.  The boys all have had their relationships.  It’s never easy.  Fred and George—”

“Are incapable of _anything_ mature—”

“That’s not true—”

“Besides, _they_ aren’t the ones that I should be getting grandchildren from before I get too old to enjoy it.” 

Arthur laughed, a soft warm sound, familiar and comforting.  “Molly, dear, you are far from old.  Bill’s only thirty.  Plenty of people now-a-days are taking longer than _that_ to get married.  He’s still looking for the right person, that’s all.” 

It was Molly’s turn to scoff.  “With a Veela half his age.” 

“Oh, Molly.  She’s not all that bad.  I’ve met Fleur—”

Molly turned and gave her husband an accusatory look as hurt and disappointment turned her stomach.  When had _he_ met her? 

“At the ministry, dear,” Arthur explained as if he had read her mind.  “I’ve seen her and Bill in passing, that’s all.” 

That’s all, indeed.  It wasn’t their father that the boys wanted to hide things from. 

“As I was saying,” Arthur cleared his throat and squeezed her middle, bringing her back to her original position, and away from her dark thoughts, “I’ve met Fleur and she has many fine attributes—”

“But—”

“ _But_ , even so, Bill’s _not_ serious about her.  _If_ he was,” Arthur paused and tilted his head to look her in the eyes when he said pointedly, “ _if_ it was serious _you’d_ know.  He’d bring her home.” 

Molly had serious doubts about that one.  “Well, he _should_ be serious.  He isn’t young anymore.”  Her voice cracked.  Her little baby boy.  “Why would he choose to date a child barely out of school?  Why do my sons have such horrible taste in woman?”  Didn’t they say men choose woman like their mother.  What did this say about her?  About how her boys see her? 

“I disagree.  I happen to think our sons have excellent taste in woman.” 

Molly huffed, looking out at the ocean and shaking her head.  She could feel herself being pulled farther and farther into the realms of depression.  Tears threatened. 

“Alicia,” Arthur began, “such a sweet motherly girl, but strong.  Kept her head wonderfully when Ron was missing.  Angelina, there’s a girl with a wicked sense of humor.  Strong enough to make our Fred stand in line, but smart enough to keep from smothering him.  Perfect for Fred.” 

Molly could feel her husband eyes on her face, but she refused to give in.  Just because the twins had nice girlfriends didn’t mean that their relationships were appropriate or mature, didn’t mean she’d given them the skills necessary to form a lasting relationship. 

“And Penny,” Arthur continued, when she refused to answer.  “She was Head Girl, you know,” he told her in a wheedling tone, knowing what the title meant to Molly. 

She sniffed a bit before asking, “Are they still together?” 

There was long moment before her husband whispered, “I’m not sure.”  The threatened tears spilled over and soaked Molly’s face.  “That doesn’t make her a bad choice,” Arthur insisted. 

Molly just shook her head.  If that was the best he had …  was Arthur going to prove her mothering skills by using the girlfriend of her estranged son?

“And Hermione—”

“Hermione!”  Molly screeched pulling away, turning to look her husband full in the face. 

Arthur chuckled softly.  “Molly, surely you’ve noticed that Ron fancies Hermione.” 

“Yes, of course, but …”  She paused.  She had long suspected her youngest son’s feelings.  Molly approved of Hermione, even thought she was a good role model to Ginny.  She’d always allowed the girl to sleep in her house, even though … “But Ron’s just a baby.” 

“He’s sixteen, Molly.” 

“Oh God!”  She buried her face in her hands as she fell forward onto her husband’s chest.  She knew she was behaving like a child but it was all too much.  Ron was her baby.  Her awkward, shy baby boy.  The leniency she’d given him and Hermione this summer, if they were together, then … but maybe it was good that she had left them alone.  Maybe _these_ two might have a chance. 

Arthur stroked her back soothingly, asking in an almost amused voice, “What’s wrong with Hermione?” 

“Nothing, it’s just …”  That they are _babies_.  Molly looked up at her husband.  “Are you _sure_ she doesn’t fancy Harry?” 

Arthur chuckled again.  “Yes, I’m quite sure it’s Ron she fancies.” 

Molly breathed a sigh of relief for her youngest son’s tender heart.  He hid it, but Ron was such a sensitive boy.  “Are they _together_?”  she asked, almost afraid of the answer. 

Her husband smiled and shook his head.  “Not yet.”  Molly relaxed at the confidence in his voice and pressed her cheek against her husband’s chest, encircling his waist with her arms.  “ _But_ ,” he continued, “she _is_ an excellent choice.” 

She nodded.  Hermione did fit her baby well.  Perhaps, Molly had learned something as she went along after all.  Maybe her youngest son would do it right.  Her thoughts wondered off to fantasies of her son in dress robes, Hermione all in white … 

“Now as for our youngest …” 

Her husband pulled her out of her first pleasant thought of the morning and replaced it with anxiety and a sense of loss.  “Ginny’s been fifteen for less than a day, Arthur.  Please, don’t tell me I have to accept her being in a relationship,” Molly moaned, eyes closed shut.  She wished that Arthur had stuck with the boys and left her little girl out of this. 

“We’re talking about choices here, Molly,” Arthur reminded her.  “She’s not too young to have a crush on a boy.”  

His teasing tone tickled her ear and Molly couldn’t help but smile at the memory that popped into her head.  It was of her small daughter mooning over her brother’s best friend, hiding behind doors and blushing strawberry red whenever Harry came into view.  Poor innocent boy.  He didn’t know what to do.  If only they’d stay that way, innocent and pure.  

“I asked the twins about Dean Thomas,” Arthur whispered and Molly huffed.  She couldn’t count how many things were wrong with _that_ statement.  “They said he was a standup lad.” 

Molly clicked her tongue.  “Oh, so the _twins_ approve then,” she drawled sarcastically. 

Arthur chuckled, “I didn’t say that.  Actually, they thought he was a bit too boring for our Ginny.” 

She huffed again.  At least that was something positive about Dean.  Her children could use a little boring, but then again…  “Maybe, they have a point,” she said softly. 

Instead of the shock and mocking that she expected from her husband, he responded with a warning tone.  “Molly, just because you would like Harry to officially be a part of our family, doesn’t mean it’s meant to be.  Ginny and Harry have to make their own decisions.”  

Yes, but that didn’t mean that it _wasn’t_ meant to be ether.  “But—”

“Do you remember Bill’s first real girlfriend?”  Arthur changed the subject deftly. 

Molly had a guttural reaction to the question, one that drove her previous argument from her head.  Tensing, she demanded, “How _could_ I remember her?  Bill never brought her home.” 

He chuckled.  “As if you didn’t know about her.” 

Molly sniffed.  She hadn’t known, not until it had been going on for ages.  “The little blond girl, Dory or something.” 

“Tonks.” 

She pulled back abruptly, looking up at him in confusion.  “What?” 

Arthur looked down at Molly with sincere blue eyes.  “That was Tonks.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.  She looked nothing like—”

“She’s a Metamorphmagus, Molly.  Tonks has _honed_ her appearance over the years.  What she looks like now is what she _wants_ to look like, not what she was born with.  You remember what a tiny creature her mother is.” 

Molly just shook her head as it all sunk in.  It just wasn’t possible.  How could she not know?  “But Bill … Tonks … how?” 

 “The point _is_ that Tonks is an excellent choice.  In my opinion, that is.” 

But Molly still couldn’t get over her shock.  How could she know so little about her son’s lives?  “But what happened?  Why aren’t they together?” 

Arthur smiled sadly.  “ _That_ I do not know.” 

Molly turned back out to the ocean.  Tourists were starting to sprinkle in, scattering about the beach.  She crossed her arms tightly and didn’t look at her husband when she said, “I notice you carefully skipped Charlie.” 

She heard Arthur sigh behind her.  “I don’t want to start a fight.” 

What was it about _that_ woman that had her whole family defending her?  “I won’t fight,” she assured her husband softly, knowing that, though she would try, that might not be a promise she could keep. 

After a moment, Arthur cleared his throat and said almost defiantly, “I believe … that Adrianna is quite a good choice for Charlie.” 

Molly scoffed, the weepiness back in her voice.  “The woman my son lies to us about for seven years.”  She turned abruptly as a horrible thought occurred to her.  “It is _us_ —?” 

His eyes widened as comprehension downed.  “ _Yes_.  Of course, yes.  I didn’t know.  But _that_ it isn’t the point.  I don’t know why Charlie didn’t tell us, but that doesn’t make Adrianna a poor choice in a partner.” 

Molly turned her face away from him and closed her eyes.  She knew she was sulking, but she didn’t care.  She felt Arthur come behind her again.  This time he said gently, his hands on her shoulders, “She’s perfect for Charlie, Moll.  Strong and independent, just like his mother.”  She scoffed again.  “Julian would be so proud.” 

Her shoulders tensed under his hands.  Molly’s gaze stayed on the ocean, but she saw nothing of the beautiful scene.  “I worry that Julian clouds your judgment about this girl,” she whispered. 

“And he doesn’t cloud yours?  He was my best friend, Molly.  Just because Adrianna’s isn’t Emily’s daughter—”

“As if I would hold _that_ against her,” Molly spat indignantly as she pulled away to look up at him. 

“You hold it against Julian,” Arthur countered. 

Anger rose in Molly.  It felt good, compared to the misery and fear.  “He was supposed to marry my best friend,” she hissed.  “But instead, he had to go gallivanting around the _world_.  He had to become a diplomat, fall in love with that … that American Muggle!” 

“Emily and Julian were never engaged,” Arthur argued, his tone losing its softness.  “They weren’t _us_ , Molly.  Katherine was right for him, not Emily.  He needed someone who wanted to travel—”

“Damn Potters!”  Molly interrupted angrily, turning away from him with sudden energy, pacing away from her husband then back again.  “Damn their wanderlust, their need for adventure!”  

“You don’t hold it against Harry,” Arthur reminded her. 

“Harry’s innocent.” 

“And Adrianna’s not?” 

Molly huffed.  “That’s last thing that girl is.  Innocent.  Ha!  Besides, she’s just as bad as her father.  Hopping from continent to continent.  You think she’ll ever be able to stay in one spot?” 

“She might.  It’s not like Charlie is one to stay home either.  He hasn’t lived in Britain for ten years, Molly.” 

The tears stung again.  What did she do that would make her son want to stay away from her, to live in _Romania_ of all places?  Molly rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, trying to wipe away the image of Adrianna stealing Charlie away from her, and England, forever.  

“It doesn’t matter,” Molly insisted.  “They aren’t together now.”  

“But Charlie wants them to be.”  

Her husband’s words cut her.  She knew her boy wanted this girl, nothing had ever been clearer.  Molly didn’t know what to do about it.  Was there a scenario that didn’t leave Charlie bruised and broken?  “But she obviously doesn’t.”  Why wouldn’t Adrianna want her boy?  Who the hell did she think she was? 

“They certainly have their _issues_ , but Adrianna obviously cares for Charlie.  Besides, Weasleys always get the girl.” 

The joke was so absurd that Molly couldn’t help but laugh despite her tears.  “She’ll break his heart,” she said adamantly. 

“Molly, there is no reason to believe that she will betray him,” Arthur persisted, but his wife shook her head.  He didn’t get it.  “She’s a fine—”

“She’ll die,” Molly burst out in a yell, letting her fear burst through with a sob.  “She’s going to die and she’s going to leave Charlie destroyed.  Harry as well.” 

She bent over with the force of her sobs, forgetting the fact that they were in a public place.  Molly felt her husband pull her against him roughly.  “Love, my dearest love,” Arthur whispered in such a caring tone that she only sobbed harder as she clutched at him.  “No one is safe.  You can’t protect them—”

“No.”  He still didn’t understand.  “She’s an Empath, Arthur.  She’s going to die young.  It’s inevitable.  It’s a miracle that she has stayed alive this long.” 

Arthur stroked her hair.  “Maybe, it _is_ a miracle.  Maybe, she’s still alive for a reason.  She’s _here_ for a reason.  Maybe she’s not supposed to die.  Destiny—”

“Destiny!”  Molly shoved away violently, screaming despite the beach goers now on the coast.  “God damned Destiny!” 

“Molly—”

“That’s why she’s here, you know.  Destiny.  My children’s Destiny.  _My_ babies.  You heard Dumbledore.  It’s not just Harry.  Adrianna is here for all of them.  Ron and Ginny are part of their damned … damned Destiny of death!” 

“Molly!”  Arthur said sharply, cutting off her rant and taking her shoulders, saying in a quiet urgent tone.  “That is not Adrianna’s fault—”

“She’s dragging Charlie into this as well—”

“Charlie isn’t being dragged anywhere.  He chose—”

Molly couldn’t stand it any more.  She pounded her fists against his chest.  “Damn it Arthur!  Why are my children always in danger?  Why are _they_ the bloody heroes?  They have other things to do, to be …” she trailed of in a whimper and leaned into her husband once more.  

He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her slightly.  “What can I say?”  Arthur said with forced lightness.  “You raised yourself a bunch of heroes.” 

“I don’t want heroes.  I want Ministry workers.  Percy was right to get to get away—”

“You don’t mean that.” 

Molly shrugged, letting her tears fall freely now.  “They shouldn’t have to fight.  They’re just children.” 

“It’s their fight, Molly.  Children or not.  You can’t protect them by locking them away.” 

She almost laughed, flashing to a “disagreement” she had with Adrianna when the girl had first started to teach the children hand-to-hand combat.  A sob escaped Molly.  “I don’t want them to learn to fight.  They shouldn’t have to learn.” 

Again it was as if he had read her mind.  That’s what thirty years of marriage did.  Gently, Arthur said, “You need to let Adrianna teach them as much as she can, Molly.  That’s her job—”

“And it’s my babies' _job_ to fight, is that it?”  she demanded bitterly.  “Well, what’s _my_ job?”  Never in her life had Molly felt more useless. 

There was a husky quality to her husband’s voice when he answered.  “You have the toughest job of them all.  You have to be the mother.” 

The mother.  That was her.  Just the mother. 

  
  


* * * * *

  
  
  


  
  



End file.
